Duke Nursing, how do I pay for it !!!

mrsboots87 · Mar 7, 2015

I would wait until you see what aid package you get since that will differ for each student. But why did you apply for a school you already know you can't afford? I'm not trying to be rude, just genuinely curious. If you were accepted into Duke, they you likely have the stats to get into more affordable universities. If your heart is set on Duke for whatever reason, then I hope you can make it work financially and congrats on being accepted.

cje1015 · Mar 7, 2015

There are limited amount of schools in this area. And i have a family so not able to move away, plus all the kids that attend duke, find a way somehow so theres always hope. Thanks anyways

calivianya, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2015

The finding a way somehow usually means having wealthy relatives, begging perfect strangers for money on the Internet, or taking out horrendous amounts of student loans. I would personally say it's not worth it to go to Duke. For one, you may get a job at Duke Hospital afterwards - and they have some of the lowest pay in the state as far as reputable hospitals go. As a nurse with a year of experience, they tried to offer me $20.74/hr when I was getting offers for at least $22-$23 other places in NC. So, it's not like you're going to pay off Duke's student loans by working at Duke, where the pay is a joke compared to other area hospitals, and they even make you pay for parking as an employee...

Just remember student loans don't ever go away, maybe not even if you file bankruptcy. I would sit down with a repayment calculator for the amount of money you're going to take out, the term of your loan, and really look at what you're going to make as a nurse and determine if you'd be able to pay your student loans before you really decide that Duke's the place you need to go.

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 7, 2015

Forget about a school you clearly cannot afford.

Look at it this way you can spend thousands of dollars, needlessly I might add, and realize you hate nursing, or, you could spend thousands of dollars and realize you like nursing. Either way, to be honest, most hospitals don't really care where you got your education, you will be treated the same and payed the same as a nurse who obtained a BSN elsewhere at a more reasonable price.

You are paying for a brand, just like if you pay 1000.00 for a coach purse when you could get a purse that looks exactly the same without the brand for 50.00. I am not sure how old you are, but I find younger people are not aware of the consequences that having high college debt will have on them when they get out, and when you have to pay those loans back. If you want to live in a shack of an apartment with a beater for a car when you graduate for the next several years, if you can even find a nursing job, then wonderful go to Duke, or any other overpriced school. However, if you want a decent home, reliable car, and to live comfortably, make better choices and go to a university that you can afford to pay back when you are done. I am not sure about the yearly cost of duke, I am gathering it is rather expensive given your posting. I would take that cost and put it in a school loan calculator to find out how much you will be paying for the next 10+ years on a monthly basis.

Make smart choices in life while you are young!

Annie

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 7, 2015

I just looked up the approximate yearly cost to attend Duke, and if I read that correctly that is 60,000.00 a year.

To put this in financial terms and if you have to take loans out for the entire amount every year that equates to 240,000.00 (That could be your first house instead).

So just to reiterate the above your

MONTHLY

payment to pay back the loans, which never go away until they are payed, will be $2,761.93 for TEN YEARS!! $1800.00 if you pay over 20 years! and $1564.00 if you pay over 30 years!

As a new grad

RN

, lets say if you find a job, you earn 29.00 and hour and you work 36 hours a week. That equates to a

GROSS pay of 4, 176.00 a month

which equates to roughly

$600.00 a week take home

once we subtract federal tax, average state tax, insurance, and retirement.

So that leaves you with

2400.00 a month for bills

. If you have to pay that kind of loan over 10 years that will leave you with

NEGATIVE 361.00 a month

. If you pay over 30 years that will leave you with a whopping $900.00 a month (this is NOT enough to live off of)! Don't forget you need a car to get to work, or you will have to pay for other forms of transportation, gas, utilities, mortgage or rent, car payment, phone, and if you choose cable/internet. Oh, did you want to eat too???

Think long and hard about this!

Annie

roser13, ASN, RN · Mar 7, 2015

Take a good hard look at the numerous threads here that essentially say the same thing: "I'm a new grad/old new grad/experienced nurse and I can't find a job." In particular, look closely at the job market in your area. Most new grads are astonished at how blinded they were to the realities of the nursing job market today. They have succumbed to the (mostly) myth that there is a nursing shortage.

Here are some questions that I see other new grads wishing they had been asked before they took on enormous student debt, especially by going to a designer nursing school:

Am I likely to get a job right out of school?

Can I live a year or more after graduation without income while searching for a job? How about when the student loans come due?

Is it really worth the "designer" school tuition if it means multiple extra years of loan payments?

What if I don't like nursing after all? (Happens more than you might imagine.) Can I support myself in other ways, while paying off nursing school loans?

I realize you're not receiving answers to the exact question that you asked, but I hope that you don't have blinders on and are willing to listen. Good luck!

roser13, ASN, RN · Mar 7, 2015

There are limited amount of schools in this area. And i have a family so not able to move away, plus all the kids that attend duke, find a way somehow so theres always hope. Thanks anyways

You are correct, a lot of the kids do manage to find the money. Are you in a position to earn a sports, music or academic scholarship? Do you have wealthy parents who will pay for your education?

As (I assme) a returning student, I don't think that you can expect to find the type of scholarship $$ that the average 18 year old will find. Duke likely does not have a shortage of nursing school applicants.

2k15NurseExtern4u, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2015

How do you pay for duke nursing school? You don't. You find a nursing school that won't exploit you financially and you find a nursing school that wont cost twice more than what you will make annually as a nurse. You should never go into more student loan debt than you would make annually.

2k15NurseExtern4u, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2015

No 50-60k a year profession is worth going into 80-100k in debt. Thats absurd and ill advised. Dont do! Reconsider!

apputney · Mar 7, 2015

I agree. Go to community college, and then find an RN to BSN online program. So many schools offer them. It is the cost effective way of doing it.

xsnurse · Mar 7, 2015

Go to a community college. I graduated with my ASN and became a RN at 21. I got my BSN from a state university ( University of Central Florida) and about to start my MSN. I am now 25 and have NO student loans. I probably paid no more than $15,000 my schooling so far. I had a little scholarship for community college and worked as a RN to pay for my BSN. Why pay so much and then have to worry about making ends meet?